%0 Thesis %9 Master %A Kasten, S.T. %D 2016 %F theses_frw:1509 %T Consumers’ and producers’ perceptions of local food in the north of the Netherlands. Exploring the local food system by consumers’ and producers’ proximity dimensions of local food. %U https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/1509/ %X This master thesis explores the local food phenomenon in the north of the Netherlands from the perceptions of and behavior by producers and consumers. This was done by focusing on the three different domains of proximity: geographical proximity, relational proximity and values of proximity (e.g. quality, small-scale). Semi-structured in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys were used to collect the data. The local food producers within the north of the Netherlands are mainly small-scale businesses. While all producers involved with local food recognized the financial gain of this, they also produced local food because of personal motivations. For the producers local food was mainly about trust and the close relation with the consumer. While many consumers did acknowledge a closer relation between producer and consumer by buying local food, the consumers did generally not attach much value to a close relation with the producer.